My Soul House

Photo credit:  ckdhtc on High Aperture

When I was in my college years, I kept dream journals, and spent time learning about dreaming, and how to figure out what our dreams mean.  What I believe is that our dreams are highly personal and one has to figure out the symbolism for themselves.  One can't just open a book, look up water and determine that universally, water means thus and such.

For years during this time of my life I had re-occurring dreams that featured a house that looked much like the abandoned building above.   There was no question in my mind the meaning of the dream.  I knew the house was my life.  In the dreams, I wanted desperately to fix it up, restore it to its original beauty.  I would wander through the rooms running my fingers over wood and chipped paint.  I stepped over broken boards that were blocking access to certain parts.  My heart ached for this house, this life.

It is no surprise to me that I had these dreams regularly during this time of my life.  I'd been hiding childhood sexual abuse for some 20 years and had not ever disclosed it to anyone before.  My life was in shambles but I was the only one who knew it.  I had no idea how to go about restoring my life, my self... my soul back to it's original beauty.

Some years later, I did disclose, got good therapy and healed.  I don't believe I've ever seen the house in my dreams again and I kind of forgot about it.  A couple of years ago I was blessed to have the chance to go to Brave Girl Camp where Melody Ross and her sister Kathy Wilkins gently led us through the Soul Restoration curriculum Melody created.

The first concept we were introduced to was our Soul House.  Melody invites us to imagine that when we are born, our soul was put into a beautiful house with each room representing a part of ourselves.  Over time, things happen in our lives that make us forget who we are.  We are told lies, we are abused, we make mistakes, sometimes we even tell ourselves lies to help us make sense of our lives.  The cumulative effect of all this is that our Soul House falls into disrepair.  When we live this way for many years, we can feel like there is no hope for us, that we are beyond repair and this is just how our lives will be.  

I sat there at Brave Girl Camp stunned when Melody introduced this analogy.  It made complete sense to me given my history, my life and the beautiful but rundown, abandoned house in my dreams all those years ago.    

I've just spent a week in Idaho with the Brave Girls team becoming a certified facilitator of Soul Restoration.  In this work we 'close' our Soul Houses for restoration, clarify what are truths and what are lies and how each makes us feel.  We identify the lies we have come to believe in our own lives and release them in a powerful ceremony.  We make contact with our own Truth teller and get in touch with our authentic selves and gifts and strengths we may have long forgotten about.  All of this and more is guided by me as facilitator using the curriculum and artfully designed projects Melody created.  

If you've been feeling like you've lost yourself, forgotten who you are as you move through this busy world, it might be time for you to close for Soul Restoration.  Our next Soul Restoration retreat is scheduled for September 16,17, 18th at the beautiful and historic Kenyon Ranch is Tubac, Arizona.  We have a spot for you, Sister.

Lifting up women and girls... what have you done today?

My heart is full today.  It's been a wonderful month in which I have been blessed with a larger than ordinary number of opportunities for self renewal.  A lovely, unplugged week in Hawaii with my husband was followed by a truly special retreat for women called Brave Girls Camp.  Today I was able to be in a room full of women leaders in my community to hear Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Anna Maria Chavez speak about the importance of funding and volunteering for organizations like ours that support and advocate for girls.

When talking with Anna Maria today, she shared with me that the Girl Scout Research Institute has brand new, not yet published research that shows Arizona 49th for girls living in poverty.   We can't really afford to wait any longer to do something about it.  Following that conversation Anna  delivered an inspiring call to action.  We must stand together to raise a generation of leaders or we will face an empty leadership pipeline when we need it most.

I remember a Pete Seeger quote about how lucky we are that the world is so screwed up... because that means it's never been easier to make a real difference in the lives others.  It's funny and it's certainly true that it's easy to make a difference in the lives of women and girls.  Yes, you can share your time, treasure and talents with great organizations like Girl Scouts, but it's even easier than that.

You can begin to lift other women and girls up by such radical actions as shutting down fat talk when you hear it starting around the office or the locker room.  Whenever you hear people commenting on the personal appearance of female political candidates, you can challenge it.  When you hear a young girl say she 'can't do it', you can remind her that instead of "can't" it's probably more likely that she just doesn't know how yet.  These simple but out of the ordinary actions compounded by those of others raise the boats of all women.   We must find ways to make that happen.  Girls and women can't wait any longer.  Girls in Arizona and girls halfway around the world... they can't wait any longer.

You get to choose what you will do to help lift up women and girls... but we all need to you choose to choose.  Think about it.  What can we count on you for?  Post in the comments what you commit to do.